Exile
by JinxAnnWilson
Summary: Five characters, one story. What they don't know is that they're all keeping secrets from each other.
1. Alice

**Chapter 1: Alice**

_You've got sucker's luck, have you given up?_

You want to know my story? Really? Okay. I guess I'll start with the very beginning: the day of my birth. Well, our birth is more like it, but I'll tell you about her later.

My name is Chell. Dad said it's Hebrew for something, but I don't really remember what exactly. Anyway, that's really just my nickname. My real name is Alice. Alice Lily Caroline Johnson. And my dad isn't really my dad. I mean, he raised me and all, but my biological dad is someone else.

The day was December 28. I don't know the year. Nobody does. I'm not going to go into details, but let's say it wasn't the most peaceful day for Mom. I came first, then Amelia. She was born a good 36 minutes after me. Identical, we were, except for our personalities as I was told. She liked computers and art, while I was more of an outdoors kind of person. I rolled around in the mud while she covered her hands with paint. I wish I could've seen it.

You see, I didn't exactly grow up with Amelia, but I don't know why. I just knew all that stuff because Dad overheard "Mr. Johnson" talk about her. That's what I used to call him as a kid. I'm not actually mute, by the way, as you might believe. What I've gone through, I guess, just kind of scared me into it. I never was the talkative type anyway.

My story onward was pretty simple. I grew, Dad took me to work sometimes, I moved as I got old enough, and I moved back when I heard about Aperture and how it lost all its money while Black Mesa was raking it in. Reluctantly, I joined Aperture, tested under the supervision of GLaDOS, met a few personality cores (some good, some bad), and finally escaped from Aperture. I thought it was good decision, going back. Guess I was wrong.

So, now, I am 55 years of age. Not physically, of course. Aperture had this chemical in the cryogenic storage that prevented you from aging, but only externally. I am happily married to no one but me, myself, and I. In this world, in this time, how could I possibly have time to find someone for myself?


	2. Amelia

**Chapter 2: Amelia**

_Does it feel like a trial?_

My story starts right after I was born, I'm sure. My sister was sent to an orphanage, while I actually got to live with my real mom and dad as Amelia Iris Chloe Johnson. Crazy, isn't it? I guess our parents- actually it was Mom- sent her away because it'd be bad for the press, you know? They could already see the headlines. We were out of wedlock, so soon after we were born, they got married. I had the sheer luck of living with the world's busiest parents. If I wasn't with my nanny, I got to go to work with them, and sit around in an office. My sister, as I have heard, had it better.

Anyway, as the years passed, a nanny wasn't all that necessary. I watched myself, and went to school myself. Sure, my parents were home sometimes, but never all that much. I grew quite fond of art and technology, and hoped one day to combine them together. My mother, however, disapproved. She wanted me to follow in her and dad's footsteps and become a scientist. I eventually did, though, giving in to her demands to somehow make her happy. She's pretty stubborn, actually.

It's all my fault, you know. Her getting poured into that computer. I didn't know what would happen, I just did what Dad wanted me to do. At first, she was very upset about the idea. But when Uncle Doug got involved, somehow, she thought it would be okay. Many of the other scientists didn't want me to go through with it, saying anyone could go mad with that huge amount of power. I sure wished I had listened to them.

I now talk to you through a robot, as I mistakenly uploaded myself, instead of my mother, into it. A Turret to be exact. Everyone at the company was dead by then, my mother was supposedly off. When I was transformed, she took up the opportunity and shoved me through the trash chute. What she didn't know is that none of the tubes were actually on, so I sat there, with a bunch of cubes and spare parts, not knowing what would come of me. The tubes were eventually turned back on, and I was immediately on my way to redemption. She didn't know that, she thought I escaped and that Alice is actually me. That's why she wants her dead, she really wants me gone. I hope she'll figure it out though, I don't want my sister hurt. But from now on, I'll just be the one that knew too much. It's pretty simple. I'm different.


	3. Cave

**Chapter 3: Cave**

_Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?_

As usual, don't expect this to be actually me. This is just a pre-recorded message. I don't have time to actually talk to you people about my life. I'm not going to talk about my whole childhood and that nonsense. I was sixteen when I got my first job selling shower curtains for this small company. I decided that selling shower curtains for a company that was going under was a dumb idea, so I started my own company a couple of years later. I called it "Aperture", as the first thing we sold were camera lenses. It was just me, one of my cousins (whom I fired after a month because he broke his leg and he couldn't walk that fast in crutches), and some of my friends from school. We continued our business all the way through college, even though we went to different colleges. I went to Walsh to study business, Henry and Matt went to Wayne State to study Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Katie went to Detroit Mercy for architecture.

After some time, the others left our company, with only Henry and I left. He became a scientist for us, and we eventually stopped selling and started making. We invented things that we sold, and with the money we hired more people. The more people, the more inventions. I soon became a wealthy businessman, with a large company and a stack of papers on my desk. The papers were from students mostly, wanting to become an intern or something. I never got to the stack, until one day it fell over and all my mail got mixed in with them. I searched through them, eventually coming across this one that caught my eye. You see, I asked everyone that applied here to attach a picture to their application form, as anyone can gussy their papers to make them look better, but I don't want a dirty homeless guy working here.

Anyway, this picture was the prettiest one I've ever seen. The young lady was nearly as pretty as a postcard. But reading through her application, I could tell she was very dedicated to science. After cleaning up the mess of papers on the floor, I called her up, and told her the good news.

She started three days later. I remember her walking through the front doors as I was asking the secretary a question. Even then I knew she would be the prettiest woman I will ever hope to know in my life. She wore a red polka dotted fit and flare dress with white heels. The only thing I didn't expect from her is the thick-rimmed glasses that she wore, but that made her no less beautiful in my mind. I was utterly speechless. She introduced herself and I laughed when she asked to speak with Mr. Johnson, as you would think she would know what I look like. I felt bad after laughing, I could tell she got embarrassed.

I told her where she would be working and all that nonsense, but what struck me is her knowledge on the things we were working on. She made a comment that science labs should just start testing directly on humans when inventing tools and new technology, because animals would break the machinery which would only cost the company money. Trust me, I made a note of that. I don't want any brainless primates breaking my stuff.

Caroline Mesa was her name. She had an older brother, Doug. He was in some hospital and had nowhere to stay, as Caroline had told me. She wanted a job for him there, and I gave him one. That was a good idea, since he was a very hard worker. Most of the time, he worked all day and all night. Before he was in the hospital, he went to college for some time to study mechanics.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Caroline and I were expecting a baby. We already had the name picked out. If a girl, Amelia, and if a boy, Charles. I didn't even know when she was in the hospital. She didn't call me or anything, I only knew because her brother called me. I rushed over there as fast as I could, and I arrived just in time. A few minutes later, we were proud parents of a baby girl. A month later, we got married.

After Amelia grew a bit older, we took her to work with us. I could tell she didn't like going to work with us, but I didn't have a choice, really. When she started going to school, she was so happy. Every day she would tell us about how she learned about animals or how she painted in art class.

When she went off to college, Caroline and I started to work a lot more. The year was 1977, I believe. I was starting to get sicker as my company became closer to bankruptcy. It was because of me, that my company was almost gone. About a year earlier, I started a company called Black Mesa. I named it after Caroline. The company would ship Aperture's inventions internationally. That didn't last too long after their ship crashed. Their company skyrocketed all because of one of my former employees, Gordon Freeman. He invented some things to help him get back to America, and when he did, he sold them. It's easy to figure out.

I was so angry at the time, it just made my illness worse. I knew I was getting close to dying, so I started to decide what would happen to the company when I would die. Caroline would run it for sure. I didn't want her physically to run it, though, as like me, she would eventually die. I wanted her to be put in a computer, to become an artificial intelligence, if you will. I didn't just choose her because I loved her. I chose her because she's smart, yet modest at the same time. She would run this company well, and I knew it.


	4. Caroline

**Chapter 4: Caroline**

_Did you fall for the same empty answers again?_

I was born to a family with four sons and five girls, which made me girl number six. First born was Rachel, then Doug, Alexandra, Louise and Lisa, Casey, Joseph, me, Brandon, and finally George. I was closest to Doug, my older brother. Everyone thought he was weird, given that he has schizophrenia. I didn't though, I looked up to him.

School was difficult, as I was always the odd one out. I loved to read, and I loved science. I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up when I was nine. I wanted to be a scientist and invent things that would change the world.

I had to get two jobs to help pay for college. I worked as a waitress at a local restaurant and as a cashier at a drive-in movie concession stand. I didn't complain, it was fun. I got a lot of free food and got to see a bunch of movies.

During college, I applied at this science lab as an intern, as I thought it would help getting a job after I graduate. I got a call about a month later, saying that I got the job. I started three days later, and the first thing that my boss did was laugh at me. I could already tell he didn't like me. I was too nervous and too shy.

I was sad when I learned that I wouldn't actually work, but be Mr. Johnson's assistant. He made me get his lunch and coffee and stuff like that. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when he asked me on a date when I was doing some paperwork one day. I stammered out a yes, and he smiled before going back to his office across the hall.

I don't know why I said yes. I didn't find him all that attractive. But that never really mattered to me. I knew I liked him because he was assertive and determined to get things done. Something I wasn't.

After a couple of years, I was about to quit my job when I learned I was pregnant. I gave birth to twin girls, which reminded me of my twin sisters, Louise and Lisa. I told Doug to take my first daughter, Alice. I didn't want- I couldn't have twins. There was this pair of twin at the lab and Cave constantly yelled at them, told one of them to wear a bell so he could tell them apart. Not only that, but we were too busy as is, let alone two children coming our way. I knew it was a mistake, but I also knew Doug would make the right choice with her.

Cave didn't even know it was going to be twins, but I did. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I knew when Cave was going to die when he did. He was constantly asking either Amy or me to get him pain pills and coughing and complaining about Black Mesa. I was just surprised that he didn't break a blood vessel.

I screamed and pleaded when I heard Cave's dying wish. I didn't want to do it. He was asking me to die for the company. I fought with the other scientists, telling them that I couldn't. It was suicide and everyone knew it. They still did it, though. With all this anger built up, I knew I had to do something about them.


	5. Doug

**Chapter 5: Doug**

_Vilify, don't even try._

My life was pretty simple. It all got complicated, I guess, when my older sister got a job as an intern at this "fancy" science place. I honestly didn't know what the big deal was, until I was released from the hospital and she got me a job there. By the time I got there, it was this huge underground science lab. And my sister? She wasn't an intern anymore. In fact, she was the founder's assistant.

Years passed, and I continued to work day and night. I had nothing else to do, so why not? The other employees laughed and called me a lab rat, though I didn't mind. But then something happened, and I didn't work at night anymore. Fortunately, I had enough money by then to afford a nice apartment not too far away. I loved her so much, and her first word was what I was to her. Daddy.

Except, I wasn't. I was really her uncle, but I never told her that, it'd break her heart. I know mine would if I was told my parents gave me up for adoption while my sister lived with them. I don't know why they only kept Amy, I really don't.

I couldn't just work all day and night with a baby at home. I remember the day I first held her in my arms. Caroline told me to take her. Take her away. Cave didn't know they had twins. He wasn't there when Chell was born, only Amy. I don't know why that was, either. He was probably working or something. I rushed over when Caroline called and said Cave wouldn't make it, and I had to drive her to the hospital. It wasn't easy either, as the roads were covered with snow. Fortunately, they didn't live too far away from the nearest hospital.

A couple hours later, I was driving again. My sister, my sweet baby sister, told me to take her first-born daughter, a girl named Alice. Cave still wasn't there, and she pleaded me to, so I did. She was small, the child. Only about four or five pounds. I didn't know that Caroline would later give birth to another girl, one she would name Amelia, after our grandmother. Caroline told me to take Alice to an orphanage, the closest being about a hundred miles away. I wasn't prepared to drive all that way, so I decided I would in the morning. But after seeing that face, the look on her face, I just couldn't. It was a look of so much determination and fear and uncertainty. She had a tuft of dark hair, and icy blue that reminded me of the Lake Huron, where Caroline and I used to go swimming in the summers of our youth.

Cave arrived at the hospital right before their second daughter was born. I had called him when I got home. He claimed that he wasn't even aware that Caroline was in the hospital. It wasn't a surprise, either, that he was at work. As Caroline had requested, I didn't mention Alice. I was happy for them, no matter. It's just that they worked so much, and I was worried that they wouldn't spend any time with their child.

Years have passed since then. I had given a nickname to Alice, which is Chell. I gave her it so Cave wouldn't be suspicious if he heard me talking about her to Caroline. When Chell was older, though, she had a tendency to ask me where I came up with that name (as she thought it was her real name first name), to me finally responding that it was Hebrew for 'beautiful girl.' I didn't know if it really is, but did she?

Since then, she had grown to be determined, smart, strong, and she never gave up on something she had her eye on. I was proud to call her my daughter, as she was proud to call me her dad. At first, she thought it was funny that I had talked to random things, but when I explained it to her, she actually started to cry. She said I was crazy. I will never forget that day. She was scared that since she was my daughter, she might grow up to be crazy, too. That my "craziness is genetic." She was six then.

After she moved out, I started to go back to work at nights again. There was this young woman there, and I thought it was Chell before I realized that it was in fact her sister, Amy. With her wavy black hair and her blue eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses with a thick black frame, she looked just like her mother at that age. Over her clothes, like all the other scientists, she wore a lab coat. I introduced myself to her, and she was happy to finally meet her uncle. That would be the last time I talked to her.

Caroline was soon transformed into an A.I., even though we both protested against it. It was Cave's last request, though, so his other employees felt a responsibility to fulfill it. She instantly went mad, killing everyone. I managed to hide for a while, before Chell (who worked there as a test subject) destroyed her. I admit, I was depressed for a time, but also relieved.

So, that's pretty much it. I was shot in the leg by a turret, too, but I figured that could've been left out. After I left Aperture for the last time, I found a girl. Her name is Jeanette Jones, but according to her, everyone calls her Jay-Jay. I call her Jeanie. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever met, and I would've married her, too. She had breast cancer, and died a couple of months after we started dating. I managed, however, and am here now. Like my brother-in-law, I am creating this: a pre-recorded message of my entire life. By now, I have probably been dead for a while. I don't know how to end this, I've been talking for a long while now, so I'll just say this: take the chances you are given in life. Raise a child, get married, however you decide it. Because when you get old, you'll then want to take risks, but you won't be able to. That's why you start young and die old. Goodbye.


End file.
